Supreme Court collegium to recommend five judges for high court chief justices

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended five judges for appointment as chief justices of various high courts. This move is aimed at filling vacancies that have left several courts operating under acting chief justices. The collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and including justices Vikram Nath and BV Nagarathna, has re-recommended Justice V Kameswar Rao for the Patna high court.

They have also decided to appoint acting chief justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra for the Punjab and Haryana high court and Sanjeev Prakash Sharma for the Rajasthan high court. Additionally, Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi from the Allahabad high court and Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge from the Bombay high court have been recommended as full-time chief justices.

The signed recommendations are anticipated to be sent to the Union government soon, though decisions on appointing full-time chief justices for the Madhya Pradesh high court and the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh high court have not yet been made. This action comes as numerous high courts are currently led by acting chief justices, with the Bombay and Calcutta high courts under the stewardship of Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty since June 2026.

The Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh high courts have also been under acting leadership since the same date. The Punjab and Haryana high court has been managed by Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra since June 2026, while the Rajasthan high court has been under the leadership of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma since September 2025.

The recommendations are particularly significant given the impending vacancies in the Supreme Court, with three currently unfilled and two more expected to arise later this year.